A Heart For A Heart
by IheartJack0023
Summary: They had a shared love and a shared pain. They just didn't know it yet. One-Shot. [Law x OC]


**A/N:** My first ever Law fic. I was just laying in bed this morning after I woke up and for some reason this idea popped into my head and I honestly have no idea how it turned into this. I feel like I did not get Rosinante's character right.  
And why do my oneshots always end up being longer than I intend?

For the purposes of this story, I'm going to make both Corazon and Doffy slightly older than they actually are—two years-ish older.

And, can you guys catch why I chose the name I did for my OC? Hint: Look at why Rosinante is named the way he is.

* * *

 **[Altisidora, Age 6; Rosinante, Age 24]**

"I want you to listen to me very carefully," started Rosinante, his head tilted downward so he could speak to the small blonde girl in his lap.

"Okay, papa," she said with a nod as she stared up at her father intently.

"When people ask you what your name is, I don't want you to use my name. You should use your mother's instead." Altisidora furrowed her brows.

"I don't get it." Rosinante, pushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear.

"Don't tell people that your name is Donquixote Altisidora."

"Why not?"

"Things that you can't know about yet are happening. And if they keep getting worse then that name is going to get you into a lot of trouble." Altisidora blinked up at Rosinante. She didn't fully understand what he meant, but she was her father and she  
trusted him so she would listen.

"Okay," she said. "I won't."

"Promise?" He asked her. She nodded.

"Promise."

* * *

 **[Altisidora, Age 7; Rosinante, Age 25]**

"Papa!" Squealed Altisidora as she pulled on the back of the collar of her father's marine uniform. She kept a firm grip on the piece of clothing as he sat himself up. She climbed back up to her previous position, seated on Rosinante's shoulders with  
her hands laid flat on top of his head.

"Are you okay, papa?" She asked him.

"Of course, Alti," he reassured her as he stood up, his stature bringing her up very high off the ground. "You don't need to worry about me." She couldn't see his face, but she knew that he was smiling. He smiled a lot when he was with her.

He continued his walk down the corridors, stopping when he got to the door of the office of a very important man. He knocked and went in once given permission to enter.

"Gramps!" Altisidora happily as she bounced up and down, which, from her current seat, only encouraged her father's inherent clumsiness and caused him to fall face flat on the floor—again. She quickly hopped off of her father and started tugging on his  
uniform from beside him.

"Are you okay, papa?" She asked him.

"Yup," he said, his voice muffled by the floor, while giving her a thumbs up. Altisidora continued tugging on the clothing, as if she had enough strength to pull him up on her own. Once he was back up and she had assured herself that he was okay, she  
ran over to the seated man that she had called her grandfather and jumped onto his lap.

"Would you like a rice cracker?" He asked her, offering one to her. She grabbed it, giving her thanks and started to nibble on it as she watched the two men talk to each other.

"Is everything ready?" Her father asked the man. "All the paperwork?"

"Done," he replied.

"Thank you, Sengoku," he said with a nod before turning his gaze over to the little girl who was now looking at him with her head tilted to the side. "Alti," he said softly. The seriousness in his face was completely gone and had been replaced by a gentle  
smile. She shoved the rest of the rice cracker in her mouth before jumping off of her grandfather's lap and heading toward her father. After her first three steps, she tripped on nothing and fell forward face flat on the floor.

"I'm okay," she said, her voice muffled by the floor. She stood up and saw both of the men in the room, trying to hold back their laughter and then failing. She didn't pay either of them any mind, since this was a usual occurrence, and finished the walk  
to her father. He squatted down in front of her, his laughter finally dying down, and placed his hand on top of her head. She looked up at him through her lashes because even in his squatted position, he still towered well over her.

"You're gonna be leaving again, aren't you, papa?" She asked him.

"Yea," he told her. She pouted at him, teary-eyed. "It won't be so bad. You'll have Sengoku to take care of you."

"That's what you always say," she said, a few tears leaking out of her eyes. "Do you know how long you'll be away this time?" Rosinante closed his right eye and shook his head. His smile seemed to sadden, taking on a bittersweet appearance.

"But I'll call whenever I can," he told her. She nodded as she wiped her eyes.

"Okay."

* * *

 **[Altisidora, Age 9; Rosinante, Age 28]**

Sengoku stared at Altisidora with a frown. She was seated at a table, her legs moving back and forth between the legs of the chair and humming a tune as she drew.

"Alti," he said as he got closer to her, drawing her attention to him.

"Gramps!" She shouted happily. "Look what I drew for papa!" She held up the colorful drawing in front of her, a look of pride on her face.

"Alti," he said again, taking a seat next to her. "I have some news about Rosinante."

"Is he finally coming back?" She asked eagerly and stood up on the chair. "It's been so long." Sengoku shook his head.

"It's some bad news, actually," he said. He had spent the past few days thinking about how to tell her the news, but no way that he could think of seemed fitting. Altisidora frowned.

"Did he get hurt?" She asked softly. Sengoku took a long pause and closed his eyes.

"He—," he started. "He passed away."

"Wha—," her voice sounded even smaller than it had before. "No." He heard her voice crack. "You're lying!" Her voice started getting louder. "He can't be—." Her voice was cut off by heavy sobs. He knew he had to open his eyes; he had to comfort her. But  
it was going to hurt.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Altisidora hands balled up into little fists and covering her eyes. But it didn't stop the flow of her tears.

"He said he would come back," she wailed. "He can't—he can't be gone." She felt large, warm arms embrace her, but it didn't change a thing. It didn't help at all. It didn't make the hurting stop.

"I'm sorry, Alti," she heard the voice of her grandfather figure. "But it's the truth."

"How?" She said between sobs. "How did he—?"

"I think," he began. He had a theory. One that had yet to be proven, but maybe one that could help ease the mind off a little girl. "He gave his life to save someone else's."

"Why?!" She screamed, pulling away from Sengoku and moving her hands to stand stiffly by her sides. She was hurting so much. It wasn't fair. Why her? Why him? Why did he have to die? There must have been other people there, right? Why couldn't it have  
been one of them. "Why?" she spoke quietly. Her hands were still in fists by her sides, her nails digging deep into the flesh. Her head was hung low making her hair cover her eyes. Tears continued to fall, landing on the bare feet beneath her.

"Why did he have to do that?" She whimpered out. "He knew he had to come back to me; he knew! So why..." Altisidora continued to sob, getting quieter and quieter as time passed. She didn't say another word until she had finished and made sure that her  
voice wasn't shaking anymore.

"Who did he save?" She asked Sengoku. "Can you tell me that?"

"A boy," he told her. The boy with white lead disease that Rosinante had told him about, he thought. The boy that he knew that Rosinante had felt sympathy for—the same boy that they couldn't find. It was the only reasonable explanation that he could think  
of. "Who was very ill." Altisidora remained quiet for a while, a deep scowl set on her face.

"That's it?" She questioned. "All of this for one boy?" Sengoku saw anger starting to peek out of her eyes. "If I ever meet that boy," she started mumbling to herself, but he couldn't catch the rest.

* * *

 **[Altisidora, age 10]**

Sengoku's attention was drawn away from his paperwork as the door to his office slammed open. He watched as Altisidora walked into the room and then fell flat on her face after a few steps.

"I'm okay," he heard her muffled voice.

"Haven't I told you about knocking?" He asked her. She stood in front of his desk, dusting off her clothes.

"But when I do, you make me wait outside for a long time," she pouted. "Even when you're not doing anything!" Sengoku continued to munch on a rice cracker, offering her some as well.

"Thank you," she said after taking one. She was about to eatit when she remembered that she had actually gone there for a reason. "Oh yeah!" She said. "I've decided that I'm gonna become a marine!" A grin was spread across her face.

"Really?" Sengoku asked her. She nodded rapidly.

"I'm gonna become a strong marine just like papa was!" She exclaimed and then, somehow, slipped and fell onto her side.

"I'm okay!" She said.

* * *

 **[Altisidora, age 15]**

Altisidora barged into Sengoku's office with a paper in her hand. She saw him drinking tea with Garp—and normally she would join them, but today was different. Today she needed answers.

"Alti," groaned Sengoku as Garp greeted her jovially. "How many times have I told you—," she cut him off by slamming the paper that she had down on his desk, hard. Sengoku's eyes widened as he saw what exactly was on the paper.

"Garp, could you please step out for a moment," said Sengoku. He removed his glasses and sighed.

"He said go," said Altisidora as Garp was about to say something. He huffed and grabbed his tea, leaving with a promise to come back.

"Answers. Now," Altisidora growled out as soon as she heard the door shut fully. Sengoku stared down at the paper. He saw the image of one of the newer warlords, and underneath it was printed his name: Donquixote Doflamingo.

"Alti," he began.

"No, no, no. Don't try and lecture me right now. Tell me who the heck this is and why the fuck," she hissed, "was I not told about him." Sengoku let out another sigh as he leaned back in his chair.

"He was your father's brother and the reason your father left for so long that last time. He had gone undercover because he wanted to take down his brother who was doing all sorts of illegal things. He's a terrible man who your father wanted you to stay  
away from at all costs." He paused, unsure if he should divulge anymore information. "It's also very likely that Doflamingo was the cause of Rosinante's death, but I can't be too certain."

"Not that it matters," Altisidora spat out. "As a warlord, you guys can't touch him. What happened to your so-called justice?" When she didn't receive an answer, she turned around and headed to leave.

"Wait," Sengoku called out to her as she stood in the open doorway. "Don't do anything stupid." His only response was the sound of a slamming door.

* * *

 **[Altisidora, age 16]**

"And who is this young lady?" Spoke a sinister voice. It belonged to a tall man with blond hair who had a grin that stretched practically from ear to ear. He sat on a chair like a king on a thrown as a teenage girl, covered in scratches, bruises and blood  
was thrown onto the floor in front of him.

"She refuses to leave and says she knows you," a woman in a maid-like outfit told him.

"Hmm. She doesn't look familiar at all," he said. "Dispose of her."

"Wait!" She shouted, her voice raspy. "Wait." She clenched her teeth at the thought of what she was about to do. She silently apologized to her deceased father—she was about to break a very important promise.

"My name is Donquixote Altisidora," she said. "The daughter of Donquixote Rosinante." The man chuckled, first lowly and then loudly, insanely.

"Hard to believe that between being a marine and then betraying me, he had the time to produce," he paused. "You." Altisidora wasn't sure if that was meant to be an insult. She decided that she didn't care.

"You'd be an idiot to think otherwise," she told him. "I look just like him, don't I?" The man's grin did a complete 180. Altisidora felt something thin, but strong dig into her flesh. It pulled her up and kept her in place.

"Why did you come here? Found out that I killed that traitorous father of yours? Come here looking for revenge?"

"No," she stated. Silence filled the room as he waited for her to answer. "I came here because you're the only family that I have left. Let me stay. Please." The man's grin returned back to his face and he let out a chuckle. Altisidora felt whatever was  
keeping her in place disappear, letting her fall onto the floor.

"Well, since you asked so nicely," he said. He chuckled again; this time it seemed more sinister. "Just call me Uncle Doffy."

* * *

 **[Altisidora, age 22; Law, age 26]**

Six years. She had been there for six years, growing stronger, learning his weaknesses, waiting for the right moment to strike so that she could finally take down the man that had murdered her father. And it all went to ruin. All because some damn rookie  
pirates decided to stick their noses into things that weren't their business. But they had defeated Doflamingo in the end. So did it really matter who did it?

Altisidora scowled as she walked around the ruins of Dressrosa, her gaze was set on the ground as she kicked some of the rubble around. She stopped and looked up when she heard the sound of several footsteps heading her way. She saw several marines heading  
her way.

"It's another one of the executives! Arrest her!" Alitisidora tilted her head as she watched them get closer. She could fight them off; it wouldn't be hard at all. But should she, she wondered. Maybe she should just let them capture her. What would they  
do? Lock her up in impel down?

"Hold it, guys!" Shouted someone. "Leave this one to me." She looked over to see a familiar face smiling at her.

"Gramps?" She questioned, tilting her head. The marine foot soldiers exchanged glances, both confused and unsure of how they should proceed. "You look old," she added as she took in his head now full of white hair. He shooed away the marines and sat down  
on a large piece of rubble. A gorilla followed behind him. Altisidora followed after him too, her eyes never leaving the gorilla.

"What happened to the goat?" She asked him. "Did he die? I liked that goat," she mumbled to herself.

"Rice cracker?" Sengoku asked her. Altisidora turned her attention back to the man she hadn't seen in years. She took one and thanked him before settling to lean against a ruined wall across from him. It felt nostalgic—eating it. She heard a crack as  
she munched on it that she knew did not belong to the cracker. And then she fell back and onto the floor, the wall that she had been leaning on in pieces underneath her.

"I'm okay," she said.

"You're on fire," Sengoku told her. She looked over to see that indeed one of her pant legs was on fire.

"How did that even happen?!" She questioned as she patted her leg until the fire died down. "Why do I even question it anymore?" She sat down, deciding not to lean on anything in fear of a repeat of what had just happened.

"How do you feel?" Sengoku asked her.

"How am I supposed to feel?" She said, burying her face into her hands.

"Well, it's over for Doflamingo. Isn't that what you wanted? Isn't that why you left?" There was a brief silence.

"I feel," she started. "I feel like I've just wasted six years of my life. In the end...he's still dead and I'm still," she paused, unsure of the right word. "Lost," she said quietly.

She lifted her head up as she heard someone approaching them. She recognized him as Trafalgar Law—a pirate, who she knew was somehow connected to Doflamingo; she didn't know how, though, because she never cared enough to learn.

Law made his way toward Sengoku, but slowed down as he noticed another figure staring at him—a young woman with blonde hair who he recognized as one of Doflamingo's executives. He narrowed his eyes at her. If he remembered correctly, she was the one who  
sat on the heart seat. He was curious to know what she was doing there, sitting so casually with the ex-Fleet Admiral, and not cuffed and locked up like the others had been. He gave a questioning look to Sengoku as he reached the pair, but when neither  
reacted, he decided to question it later.

Altisidora watched the tan skinned man as he leaned back against the wall that she had been leaning against earlier. She wondered if it would break on him too or if it happened to her just because it ran through her genes—was that even possible? She observed  
the newcomer as he conversed with Sengoku, their voices fading into the background. He had dark hair, cold eyes, earrings on either ear, and several tattoos on his hands—she was sure there were more hidden under those bandages. Overall, he looked  
like one of those guys that parents told their daughters to stay away from. She turned her attention back toward Sengoku.

"Four things were lost during that incident," she heard him say. What were they talking about? What did she miss? "The Barrels Pirates, my subordinate, the op-op fruit, and the boy who was with the Donquixote family at the time who was suffering from  
white lead disease." Altisidora furrowed her brows. Something about this sounded familiar.

"Yeah, that's me," Law said.

"I thought so." Sengoku looked over at Altisidora before continuing. "Rosinante took a half-year break from his mission because of you?" The woman's eyes widened at the question. What? She wondered as she turned her attention back to Law.

"Yes," she heard him say. "He took me to so many hospitals." Altisidora tilted her head. She was incredibly confused at the moment. She realized that maybe she should have been listening to the conversation from the beginning. From what she had gathered,  
her father had taken Law to many hospitals. That didn't clear anything up for her.

"Then, he went for the op-op fruit," continued Sengoku, "and sacrificed himself to save your life?" And that's when she snapped.

Before anyone knew it, Law flew back from the force of a punch that he didn't dodge because he didn't expect it at all. He sat up, rubbing his cheek. He wasn't surprised when saw blood on his hand after he did that because the punch hurt. He blinked and  
saw Sengoku munching on his rice crackers, as if he wasn't surprised by what just happened, and he saw that girl standing there, hair hiding her face, shoulders slumped but shaking and fists at her sides.

As he got closer he realized that she was crying. Law furrowed his brow; he was beyond confused.

"What the hell makes you so damn special?!" She screamed. He realized that she was directing the rhetorical question at him. "What the hell makes you so special that he'd give up his own life to save yours?!" Alright, thought Law. She must be talking  
about Corazon. That made things a little bit clearer, but not by much. "What the hell made you worth saving?!" Law stared at the woman blankly. "Why?! Why?" Her voice had quieted down. She lifted her head up to stare at him and he saw a seemingly  
endless stream of tears falling down her face.

"Why did he choose you over me? What makes you better? What makes—," she let out a gasping sob. "He left me all alone. Because of you. I was all alone." He watched her knees buckle causing her to fall in a sitting position on the floor. "And I didn't  
even get to say goodbye. I didn't get to tell him that I loved him one last time." Her tears lessened and his eyes met hers. They looked to be pleading, searching, but he wasn't sure for what.

"Why'd you take my father away from me?" She asked him. And that's when it all clicked into place for Law. It wasn't something he had ever considered. He had no reason to do so. But it wasn't something unlikely. It was something definitely possible. It  
could indeed be that this girl was actually Corazon's child.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "If it's any consolation, we never intended for that outcome; the original plan included both of us surviving."

Law knew that didn't console her in anyway and he felt guilt start to eat up inside of him. All those years ago, he had been drowning in guilt, finding himself at fault for Corazon's death. He had buried that long ago by directing his feelings at Doflamingo,  
but now that guilt came flooding back. And not just guilt over Corazon's death. He had taken Corazon away from someone that must have been very precious to him. Corazon had never planned to die that day. What had he planned, Law thought. He had probably  
planned to go back to his daughter once it was all over; maybe he had planned to introduce the two to each other. He would have wanted to see her grow, to mature, to be there for her every step of the way. But instead, here she was, crying her heart  
out on top of a bunch of rubble in the middle of a destroyed city.

"Cora-san, he," Law said after a long pause. "He didn't just save my life. Before I met him, I was miserable. I was going to die so I wanted to take as much of the world with me as I could. But that changed because of him. He gave me back my spirit. I  
am who I am now because of him. I'm forever in his debt."

Altisidora looked at Law with bleary eyes. She watched him squat down in front of her and put his hand on her head—it was just like her father had so many years ago. She blinked away any remaining tears so that she could look at him more clearly.

"He didn't choose me over you or anything like that," he told her. "I doubt he ever even thought there was a choice like that that he needed to make."

Altisidora watched Law stand back up and step a bit away from her before turning to look back at Sengoku, who was now calmly sipping on his tea. Law's eyes twitched as Sengoku hummed thoughtfully.

"Maybe," started Sengoku, "I'm starting to catch a glimpse of what it was that Rosinante gave his life for." Law raised a questioning eyebrow at the white-haired man who ignored it as he took another sip of his tea. "So then, were you another one that  
was here because you've been planning for years to get revenge on Doflamingo for Rosinante's death?"

"Another one?" Questioned Law. Sengoku motioned toward the girl whose name Law still did not know. Law sighed and nodded in confirmation. "I've single mindedly lived to kill Doflamingo on his behalf." He paused. "But I don't know if this is how he wanted  
me, bearing the name of 'D.', to live."

"'D.'?!" Shouted Sengoku.

"Like Straw Hat, I have that secret name too. Since you used to be the Fleet Admiral, don't you know something about the meaning of that 'D.'?" There was a brief moment of silence. Altisidora didn't pay too much attention to this part of the conversation.  
Her eyes were still glued to Law, his words ringing in her ears.

"No idea," Sengoku finally said.

"Hey! Don't play dumb!" Exclaimed Law.

"At least, I know Rosinante had no idea. So that wasn't the reason he saved you. Don't try to find a reason for somebody's love!" Altisidora's eyes started to tear up again at the sound of Sengoku's words. Several memories flashed through her mind at  
that moment. She shut her eyes tightly and dug her fingers into the material of her pants because of the overwhelming feeling that followed. She wasn't sure for how long she remained like that, but she wasn't brought out of it until she heard two  
voices calling her name. She opened her eyes to see the two that had been calling for her.

"Alti," was her grandfather.

"Alti-ya," was Law. What was with that '-ya' she wondered. She let go of her pants and let her hands fall down to her sides.

"What am I supposed to do now?" She asked aloud. "Where am I supposed to go?" She looked over at Sengoku, her eyes filled with desperation. "After everything that's happened, there's no way I can join the marines now, gramps." He shook his head at her.

"You don't have very many options now," he told her honestly. She bit her lip nervously. Law mulled a thought over in his head in the meanwhile. Once he had made his decision, he shifted his nodachi to his left hand, sticking the right one out right in  
front of her. Altisidora looked up at Law, questioning what he was doing.

"If you need somewhere to go," he said, "you can come with me." She looked at him with hesitant eyes. She wasn't sure how she should regard the proposal. "Join the Heart Pirates," he added, "and you won't be alone anymore." Altisidora's eyes widened at  
what he said.

"Heart...Pirates?" She questioned softly. "Heart?" She wasn't sure why, but her shoulders felt a little lighter. Law had named his pirate crew after the man who had saved his life—after her father. That made her feel good; not happy, but good. She gave  
him a soft smile as she reached out toward his hand and he grasped hers in his own. He pulled her up.

"Ahh. Gramps," started Altisidora as she turned around to look at Sengoku.

"Did you know that memory loss is a common thing that happens with old age?" He asked her. Altisidora's smile grew understanding what he meant.

"Thank you for everything, gramps," she told him, giving him a quick kiss on his cheek. "And by the way, when they make my wanted poster, make sure it says Donquixote on it. Someone needs to bring honor to the name." With that, she turned around, ready  
to follow behind Law, but before she even took the first step, she ended up face flat on the floor.

"I'm okay," she said, voice muffled. Law sighed.

"Definitely his daughter," he said before walking ahead of her.

* * *

 **[Altisidora, Age 24; Law, Age 28]**

"Alti-ya, what are you doing?" Law questioned as said woman hopped sideways next to him as he walked, her hands buried under his sweater, pressed against his warm skin.

"My hands are cold!" She explained with a grin.

"There are other ways to make them warm."

"But I like this way, Law-ya," she said in a teasing voice. He sighed.

"You shouldn't even be hopping around like this. It's bad enough when you walk normally, but—." Law was cut off as Altisidora tripped, falling sideways, and pulling Law, whose sweater had wrapped itself around her hands, with her. Being on a slope, the  
two ended up rolling downhill a bit. When they stopped, Law lay on his back, his hat, which had fallen off, by his side, while Altisidora lay on top of him. He heard her giggle.

"I'm okay! Are you okay?" She asked him, moving her face closer to his. Law forgot about her question when his eyes couldn't help but trace along every detail of her face.

"Law," she called out to him again, this time moving her hand in front of his face.

"Huh?" He asked, snapping out of his trance.

"I asked if you were okay. But after that, I'm starting to think you're not."

"No, I'm alright," he told her as he sat up, pushing Altisidora, who had been straddling his torso, to fall down onto his lap. The pair blushed, Law looking away in embarrassment, whereas Altisidora embraced the pink that graced her cheeks.

They froze when they heard gunshots. The same thought passed through both of their minds as their eyes met—was their crew in trouble? They got up quickly and ran in the direction of the shots, eventually finding themselves caught in the middle of a fray  
between their crew, as expected, and a group of skilled marines. They sighed but moved to help end this as quickly as possible.

A lot was happening at once. So much that it could have easily been overwhelming. But Law wasn't bothered by it because he was too busy focusing on the room he had created and Altisidora wasn't bothered by it because she was too busy focusing on Law and  
everything around him. That being said, when a cannonball came flying straight toward him, he didn't see it, but she did. Before it could hit him, he had been knocked onto the ground, the break in concentration causing his room to disappear. He looked  
to where he had been only to see a bleeding Altisidora. She was pressing her hand against her heavily bleeding torso. His eyes widened at how serious the wound looked and for a few moments he let his emotions get the best of him. He created a large  
room and with a few motions of his fingers, he had everyone, there was no distinction between friend and foe in that moment, all weaponless and hanging upside down in the air.

"I understand now," Altisidora choked out, a gentle smile on her face.

"What are you talking about, Alti-ya?" Questioned Law as he removed her hand from her torso. He needed to get a better look at the wound.

"I understand why papa did it," she said, coughing up more blood. "Why he was willing to die for you." Law paused, his steely gray eyes meeting her hazel brown ones.

"No, Alti-ya," he told her. "Don't start talking like you're going to die. You're not. I won't let you."

The submarine wasn't very far from where they were, he noticed. The best course of action would be to take her and operate there. He expanded his room as he picked her up gently. Her blood spilled onto him, but he didn't mind. He used his abilities to  
teleport them to his operating room in the sub before shrinking his room to only surround the room he was in. Surely there was going to be a mess outside, he imagined, but he didn't care all that much. He trusted his crew to be able to handle it.  
He set her down on the cold operating table, quickly sterilizing himself. When he moved to cut her shirt off of her, she put her hand on his cheek and patted it.

"It's gonna be alright," she said. "Because you, Trafalgar D. Water Law, are worth dying for."

"Stop that, Alti-ya. I told you that you're not going to die." Law sighed in exasperation as he continued to work. On one hand, it did make him happy that she said that—that she cared for him that much. But on the other hand, she was being overdramatic.  
If he couldn't save her from this, he wouldn't be able to call himself a doctor.

"I love you, Law," was the last thing she said before she lost consciousness. It made Law stop for a moment. He had to make sure that he had heard right. And though he wanted to doubt himself, he knew that he hadn't. He shook it off and continued to work.  
Now was not the time for that.

The operation went smoothly, as he expected. He just had to wait for her to wake up. And when she did, he couldn't help but be amused.

"Huh?" Was the first thing that came out of her mouth. "I'm alive?"

"Of course you are," he told her, leaning against the doorframe of his bedroom, where she had been sleeping. "I told you that you weren't going to die."

"Oh. I forgot you're a doctor."

"How could you forget something like that?" he asked her, with a small smile on his face, as he moved to sit down beside her.

"Well, this is awfully embarrassing," she said. "I said all that stuff thinking that I was going to die, but here I am."

"Here you are," Law repeated, a smirk crawling onto his face.

"After having said that I would die for you."

"After having confessed your love for me." Law's smirk grew as he moved a stray strand of her hair behind her ear.

"After—," Altisidora started, ready to continue the pattern, but then stopped when she processed what Law had just said. She turned to face him wide eyed only to be met with a smirking Law so close to her that their noses were touching. "I wha?" She asked,  
her voice coming out like a squeak.

"The last thing you said," he said quietly. She could feel his breath on her lips and she couldn't help it when her eyes flickered down to look at his. Her heart rate picked up when she looked back up to his eyes. "Was 'I love you'," he finished, his  
lips finally meeting hers. A shiver crawled up her spine at the sound of those words leaving his lips. She knew that that was his way of saying it back.

She blushed heavily when he pulled away and not knowing what to do, she moved to get off of the bed.

"Don't," Law told her, sticking his arm out in front of her.

"What?" She questioned.

"You're not allowed to get out of that bed on your own until you're healed, Alti-ya. If you can, try not to move at all."

"What? Why?"

"Because you'll just end up hurting yourself more."

"Come on, have a little more faith in me," she said as she grabbed onto the hanging chain off of the bedside lamp to turn it on. But when she pulled it, she fell forward, off of the bed, face down, the lamp having fallen along with her and narrowly missing  
her head.

"I'm okay," said Altisidora, voice muffled.

"Alti-ya," groaned Law. "What did I just say?!"


End file.
